Sometimes it was erroneously written "cock-shoot." "Come, come away then, a fine cock-shoot evening." In the "Two Noble Kinsmen" (iv. 1) we find the term "cock-light."
_Wren._ The diminutive character of this bird is noticed in "A Midsummer-Night's Dream" (iii. 1, song):
"the poor wren, The most diminutive of birds, will fight, Her young ones in her nest, against the owl."
Considering, too, that as many as sixteen young ones have been found in this little bird's nest, we can say with Grahame, in his poem on the birds of Scotland:
"But now behold the greatest of this train Of miracles, stupendously minute; The numerous progeny, claimant for food Supplied by two small bills, and feeble wings Of narrow range, supplied--ay, duly fed-- Fed in the dark, and yet not one forgot."
The epithet "poor," applied to the wren by Lady Macbeth, was certainly appropriate in days gone by, when we recollect how it was cruelly hunted in Ireland on St. Stephen's day--a practice which prevailed also in the Isle of Man.[340]
[340] See Yarrell's "History of British Birds," vol. ii. p. 178.
As in the case of the birds considered in the previous chapter, Shakespeare has also interwoven throughout his plays an immense deal of curious folk-lore connected with animals. Not only does he allude with the accuracy of a naturalist to the peculiarities and habits of certain animals, but so true to nature is he in his graphic descriptions of them that it is evident his knowledge was in a great measure acquired from his own observation. It is interesting, also, to note how carefully he has, here and there, worked into his narrative some old proverb or superstition, thereby adding a freshness to the picture which has, if possible, imbued it with an additional lustre. In speaking of the dog, he has introduced many an old hunting custom, and his references to the tears of the deer are full of sweet pathos, as, for instance, where Hamlet says (iii. 2), "Let the stricken deer go weep." It is not necessary, however, to add further illustrations, as these will be found in the following pages.
_Ape._ In addition to Shakespeare's mention of this animal as a common term of contempt, there are several other allusions to it. There is the well-known phrase, "to lead apes in hell," applied to old maids, mentioned in the "Taming of the Shrew" (ii. 1)--the meaning of this term not having been yet satisfactorily explained.[341] (It is further discussed in the chapter on Marriage.)